Thanks for the opinions. B'ham, I'm not trying to screw you out of a free bottle of bourbon. If this were a game where everyone puts up their own money, the parameters would be set at the beginning of the year and never waiver. Given that I am providing the prize, I like to shake things up a little at the end (did the same thing last year so it's not about you). It rewards some of the folks that have stuck around and played all year. As War Eagle stated, the year is not over until we pick all the bowl games (and they will be picked just like this weeks rivalry games).
Keep picking winners and you get a free bottle of Crown Reserve. Have a bad week over the final 3 weeks and someone else will get the booze. Just think of it like the BCS, if you lose a game in the beginning of the year you have all year to come back. Lose a game at the end and you are screwed. We are in crunch time, win and you will be crowned, lose and you can go home empty handed like the rest of us.